Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said this was based on several international practices in Australia and the UK.

Ariff’s predecessor, Pandikar Amin Mulia, had banned issues linked to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) civil action on 1MDB from being brought up in Parliament.

However, Ariff, a former Court of Appeal judge, did not lift the interim gag order by the High Court against discussing the issues of the case which were previously raised by Pekan MP Najib Razak’s lawyers.

Ariff said the ruling was out of respect for the High Court’s decision to respect the separation of powers.

However, he added that the principle of sub judice should not curb the freedom and rights of MPs to raise the matter as it was of public concern, as long as it did not involve criminal charges relating to 1MDB.

“The interim gag order by YB Pekan on the (merits) of the case should be respected,” he said.

Ariff made the ruling after Ismail Mohamed Said (BN-Kuala Krau) sought his advice over Pandikar’s ruling.

In 2016, Pandikar told the Dewan Rakyat that ministers need not answer questions related to the ongoing lawsuit by the DoJ to seize assets linked to 1MDB.

The move was met with uproar by opposition MPs, who filed counter-motions challenging his ruling. They argued that the gag order made little sense as the proceedings were taking place in foreign courts.

Pandikar defended his ruling, claiming that his decision was backed by the standing orders.

“If that thing (misappropriation of funds from 1MDB) happened in America, why do the people’s representatives here in Malaysia want to debate it in Malaysia’s Parliament?

“If my sub judice rule is not applicable in America because it is a foreign land, why do Malaysian MPs want to debate it in the Dewan Rakyat?” Pandikar had said.